The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Oklahoma State quotes
10.25.2008 | Football
Oct. 25, 2008
TEXAS POSTGAME QUOTES
Head Coach Mack Brown
Opening statement: Like the OU football game, this was one of the better games that we've been associated with since we've been here. It was really physical. There were two really good offensive football teams that were running up-and-down the field. Their defense forced a couple of turnovers late in the game that helped them, then our defense stepped up and forced two fourth-down stops, and that was really the difference in the ball game. We had some trouble covering kickoffs to say the least in the first half, and we got that straightened out in the second half. We didn't punt once and that worked out fine. We did not return kickoffs as well as we would've liked to, but Colt [McCoy] had just another unbelievable performance. I don't think Quan [Cosby] and Jordan [Shipley] have dropped a pass all year [until today]. I just can't remember when they have, and today, they just came up with catch after catch. The offensive line gave Colt superb protection.
Defensively, give them credit. [Brandon] Pettigrew is as advertised. He's as good of a tight end as you'll ever see. Dez Bryant is just unbelievable, and I thought we did a good job on him today, but that opened up the running game some as well. I thought it was a great football game with two really good football teams fighting to the end. I think everybody got their money's worth. I heard coming off of the field that Texas Tech won 63-14 and I saw that Baylor barely lost to Nebraska, so we still have some work to do.
I'm proud of these kids. It was another game where we answered when we could've folded. A lot of our young guys continued to play and play hard, and I was really proud of them. I'm proud of the coaches and the kids.
On surviving a scare: When the No. 1 team is playing No. 6, I don't count that as a scare. I call that a close game, very honestly. We thought this game would be this way. I heard somebody say this week that this game would be a blowout, and they were fools. It's really an advantage when you don't watch film. Oklahoma State has run up-and-down the field and they are third in the country in total offense. It's just absolutely stupid that people did not think this was going to be a great football game. I thought it was what we thought it would be coming in.
On Oklahoma State: I think when they play Oklahoma, it is going to be a great football game in Stillwater [Oklahoma]. This is not the same Oklahoma State team that we've played in the last couple of years. They're really a good football team. If you watched film, you knew it, and they looked better on the field than they were on film. When they started knocking us out, I thought, "Boy, we have got us a fight and you better hang on because this bunch as come to play." Mike [Gundy] has done a great job, and give them credit.
On the fourth downs: I think we got two fourth-down stops at the end of the game that kept them from having a chance to make it close. We actually screwed up on our fourth-and-six-inches play. We had a play called similar to the Roy Miller play, but it had [Chris] Ogbonnaya in the flat, and they got confused and went the wrong way. It looked as ugly as it did. We did not want to kick a field goal, because we didn't think they could beat us if we left the ball at the six-inch line, and if we score, we win. But, it just didn't work.
On the fourth-down stop where Oklahoma State threw the screen: I think at the end of the game, they thought he was their best chance to win because he can break tackles and make the long run. Our coaches called that play from the boundary. Duane Akina watched the film and knew, so we put Curtis [Brown] on the inside of Dez Bryant and we had a bunch of guys after him, so that was a great play.
On the defense making two crucial fourth down stops: After two turnovers by our offense, which is uncharacteristic, the defense really stepped up at the end of the game. And then our offense had a super drive, and we thought we would go ahead and end it there, and then we didn't with the fumble. We wanted a field goal to stretch the lead to seven, but then our defense came right back out and stopped them again. I felt like the defense had some tough moments, but when it counted in the end, they stepped up. Those two fourth-down stops were really like two turnovers, so we really won the turnover ration four-to-two because of those two stops.
On how the offense stayed aggressive: I thought the call of the game for Greg Davis was the pass to Jordan [Shipley] on third-and-nine when the game was about over. It was the same we used at El Paso where Jordan caught the touchdown. It was a gutsy call, but it was a great call.
On Curtis Brown: Chykie [Brown] didn't play, obviously. We looked at him during the pre-game and he could not play. Ryan Palmer hurt his elbow, hung in there and did some good things, but he didn't get to play a lot. So, Duane Akina and Will [Muschamp] did an outstanding job with those young guys back there. Curtis Brown stepped up and did a fantastic job on Dez Bryant. If you take Dez out of it, then you have the tight end, and he caught six balls in the first half. They have a lot of weapons and they are a really good offensive football team. Zac Robinson played a great game and he didn't turn the ball over. Curtis is a good player and he's been waiting his turn. He really did a great job today by stepping up. That's where our depth comes into play. We felt like we had some advantages in depth over them, but their depth has been better than it has been in the past couple of years. We felt like that was one of the reasons we were able to come back against them the last couple of years as well.
On surviving the tough stretch of games: I think they've responded really well. I thought we played hard today and it was hot out there. It was hot from the beginning. It was supposed to be 84 degrees at the end, but I think they announced it was 84 degrees from the start. This is a really good football team, and I didn't think we had a letdown at all. They are just having fun playing and enjoying who they are and what they've accomplished so far. We have the same thing next week, but like I said, going to Kansas will be hard, playing Baylor here is hard and we haven't played well against [Texas] A&M the last couple of years. So, they're not having to play well for a four-game stretch, because it's been an eight-game stretch already, and they will have to make it 12 games to even get to the goal that they want to, and that's to play in Kansas City.
On the defense learning from this game: I do think this will be a great confidence builder for our defense, and at the same time, Will [Muschamp] and those guys will have enough that they can coach.
On Colt McCoy: I've become a Texas fan, because my standards are way too high for him (laughing). At one time, he was 30-for-33 passing and he ended up 38-out-of-45. It's just amazing what he's doing. I've never seen anything like this. He's just absolutely amazing with his accuracy and toughness. He's running the ball well and he's leading this team well. He was really taking a deep shot on the one that was intercepted, and the fumble where the ball was jerked out of his hands was really close.
Offensive Coordinator Greg Davis
On the fake screen pass to Jordan Shipley: It was a fake screen and it was the second time we've used it. We thought they would be pressuring us and playing man, and fortunately enough, they were. Jordan goes out and acts like he's trying to block the outside guy and then curves up the boundary. Colt threw a great ball and it was a nice play.
On the decision to go for it on fourth-and-inches at the goal line: We felt like we had a good play called, but obviously we didn't, because we didn't execute it. The tight end was off on the play. We felt like a touchdown ends the ball game, and if not, they are 99 yards away and out of timeouts. So, I thought that was a decision we had to go with. Then, the decision was to go with what play, and in that situation, we felt like they were going to stack the middle and I thought we could slip off in the flat with Colt having a run and pass option. But, in the end, we did not execute at all.
On going 11-out-of-14 on third downs: We felt like as a full staff that anytime you're playing a team like Oklahoma State, being able to stay on the field is important. They are a really good football team, and we thought that third-down conversions would keep us on the field. That was huge.
On Oklahoma State's defense: They mixed it up a lot between having four or three down linemen, and they were bringing a bunch of different pressure. Colt was hot, as he has been, so we featured a lot of the passing game, which in our room, considered them to be runs. When we got down to the red zone, we were able to call the sweep and a couple of quarterback draws and do some things with the run game.
On Colt McCoy's play and their trust in him: Colt has done a great job of understanding what we're trying to get done, and the team is just like that. We saw what they did to Missouri and we felt like we had to stay aggressive. We tried a couple of different trick plays today, because we wanted our kids to know that we were going to be aggressive. Colt has done such a good job of taking care of the ball. His one interception was on a play where he had the option to run or pass. He had the look that he wanted, we just have to go on the outside and create a jump ball situation. But, we trust Colt with the football when the game is close.
Defensive Coordinator Will Muschamp
On playing against another dangerous offense: It seems like it's every week. But, they did a good job in the game. We were rolling our coverages to [Dez] Bryant, and we were shorting the box a little bit, and that's where we got creased in the running game. There were some poor things on my part. We should've rolled the other way at times and given them some different looks. They're such an explosive offense. Coming in, they had 19 drives of five plays or less for touchdowns. In order to take Bryant out of the game, we knew that would open up [Brandon] Pettigrew a little bit, and he is an outstanding player. We wanted to make them be patient in the run game, but they obviously creased us in the runs at times. In the second half, we played well on third down. We knew we had to be patient in the game to limit the explosives and roll up on Bryant. We knew we would give them some things in the run game, and they did a good job of showing some patience and sticking with it. So, it's credit to them, and I need to do a better job of putting us in some better situations.
On Dez Bryant: We doubled him most of the night. On the touchdown pass, we pressured, so we have to do a better job of disguising. They did a really good job at the line of scrimmage checking on the base of the look. I thought we did a good job of holding our disguises, but they saw some things that they could take advantage of.
On the play of the defense: Our kids played hard. In a special season, you've got to win games like this. It wasn't always pretty on either side of the ball or on special teams, but you have to credit our kids too. Our kids did fight and they are a good football team. Our kids kept fighting and grinding, and they won the football game when it was on the line.
On the injuries in the secondary and Curtis Brown: We were banged up. Chykie [Brown] didn't play and Ryan Palmer hyper-extended his elbow in Thursday's practice and was questionable up to game time. He was also a little banged up, obviously. There's no question that we've been really proud of Curtis [Brown]. He missed some of training camp because of the hamstring, and he is a very talented young man. He just needed an opportunity, and one man's misfortune due to an injury, was another man's opportunity. He's cashed in on it and has done a great job. I'm really proud of his effort.
TEXAS PLAYERS
QB Colt McCoy
On Oklahoma State's second half: They never give up. They are a great football team, and give them all of the credit. They were not going to give up. They kept fighting and there's a reason why they are in the top 10. They are tough. But, give credit to our defense at the end for making a huge stop. That's on us as an offense. We can't turn the ball over down there. We have to execute on fourth down. We just have to finish. We played excellent football the whole game in this situation. It's good for us and we will learn from it, and the next time that we're there, we'll finish.
On his connection with Jordan Shipley: The way that we have our offense right now, he's going to get a lot of balls. On top of that, he knows how to get open and he never messes up. I know where he's going to be. When the line is blocking like they were today, we're able to throw the ball. Like I said, we played great for three quarters against a very tough defense. They are really good. So, to be able to do that and score 21 points in the first half, and then come out and score in the third quarter was huge for us. We just have to finish. As far as Jordan's play, he's consistent and he's going to do that every week.
DE Brian Orakpo
On the fourth-down stop on the screen play: We thought they were going to throw it. Obviously, they were in a fourth-and-long situation, so we thought they were going to throw it. They stuck with the screens and trying to get us up field. It was a great job for our defensive line to be able to read that at the last minute, and then drop back and make a play.
On Oklahoma State: My hat's off to them, because that was a great team that we just played. No wonder they were 7-0. They're a very balanced team, but unfortunately for them, we made a lot of plays in the fourth quarter and our defense was able to stop them with two fourth-down stops. But, my hat is off to them because they are a great team and I wish them the best.
On Kendall Hunter: He's a great running back. He's a smaller type back, but he has very powerful legs. He's going to give people havoc in the games that he will be playing in the future. We could've done better executing in the first half, but we came along in the second half and did really well.
On Zac Robinson: He's a great quarterback. Like I've said all week, he's a dual threat. He can make plays with his feet and also throw it in the air. We had to contain him and I thought we did a great job of doing that at times. We got five sacks on him, so our defensive line did a great job of really getting after him.
CB Deon Beasley
On Oklahoma State's offense: They have a pretty good offense, they have a great quarterback. Their receivers and the tight end are pretty good players. They executed today.
On covering Dez Bryant: I just had to play my technique for the most part. I just played with technique and technique wins.
On whether the defense won the game today: I wouldn't say the defense won because our best defense was our offense at one point in the game. Them holding the ball and making them use their timeouts before they wanted to. It was just a game where we were both playing.
On holding OSU to a field goal early in the fourth quarter: It was impressive, considering they had a long drive. It was good inside the trenches. That's where we say the game will be won.
DT Lamarr Houston
On the fourth-down stop in the fourth quarter: They tried to run some screens early on in the game that had some pretty good success, and they tried to go back to it in the third quarter. We knew they needed just about four yards, so they could have run the screen.
On what the fourth-down stop did for the defense: We were just trying to keep playing football, stay focused and not let what's going on in the game get to us; just keep our heads and keep our cool.
OT Adam Ulatoski
On the offensive gameplan today: We have faith in our coaches and we're going to go out there, and execute the gameplan that they give us and fight.
On what the team can improve on: Obviously we need to finish better offensively. When we had that chance on the fourth and one, we need to put that in. I'm sure there are other things we need to do and we'll learn more about that tomorrow when we watch film.
On the fourth quarter: They're a tough team and they didn't quit. We knew that we had to bear down.
On what they learned about themselves today: We learned that we can win in close situations. We have to take each week one at a time and not look back at this one.
WR Jordan Shipley
On the win: You've got to give them a lot of credit. They really came to play today. They played four quarters and it took everything we had. We're just really fortunate to come out with a win today.
On the third-and-nine completion at the end of the game: That was a great call. You've got to give Coach Davis a lot of credit for that. Dan Buckner did a great job on a little fake and Colt (McCoy) did a good job delivering the ball.
On Texas QB Colt McCoy: I can't say enough about Colt. He's delivering the ball right where it needs to be every time and he he's playing with a lot of confidence and a lot of faith right now. It's just a lot of fun.
On Colt McCoy's interception: That's part of the game. Nobody plays this game perfect. It's a game of imperfection. You've just got to come back out and play the next series, and that's what he did.
DB Ryan Palmer
On Curtis Brown: That's my little brother. I love him so much for stepping up today. He held Dez Bryant to minimum gains. He grew so much today. He did a heck of a job today. He stayed in there and just did what he had to do. I know he gained a lot of confidence. We gained a lot of confidence in him because we're going to need him against Texas Tech.
On the third-and-six stop at the end of the game: We were just telling each other we've just got to get off the field. They're going to make plays and they kept making plays on third down to keep the drive going, but we buckled down and called the right defense and we finally settled in and stopped them.
On the final fourth down stop: They had a good play called, but we just had a better defense. We sniffed out the screen and got off the field.
On OSU RB Kendall Hunter: He did really good today. We didn't underestimate him, he just did a good job. He ran hard every time he got the ball.
CB Curtis Brown
On the win: That was a tough, tough game. It was my first game out and I expected it to be a real tough game. I played as hard as I could and I think I proved to my teammates I could hold my own.
On stepping in for injured CB Chykie Brown: It was unfortunate for him because he's been playing so well this season, and I just wanted to contribute. If my number is called, I should show up and that's what I had to do.
On his performance: The defensive line was getting pressure so I just held my half. I tried to show up and get my job done.
On if he was nervous coming into the game: Honestly, at the beginning I was, but after the first kickoff I just calmed down. I wasn't too worried, I practiced all week, I practiced hard and I was ready.
WR Quan Cosby
On Oklahoma State: They were a really good defense, a really good team overall. They flew around the ball. They have really good players, really good coaches, so you expect them to make some calls.
On the win: More than anything, we made plays when we needed to and we came out with more points than them.
On the interception: He threw it right pretty much every time. Still, that was probably more my fault. Again, we came out with a huge win and we're definitely happy to be 8-0.
On how the team gets up for so many big games: It's what we come here for. It's the atmosphere. I think it's going to be another great crowd out (at Texas Tech), a night game, ABC and that's what you come here for. It's one of those things where honestly if you love this game and have passion for this game, it's really hard not to get fired up. As much as we love this huge win for us against a great team, tomorrow we have to get right back to work.
DT Roy Miller
On the win: It was a good game and we came out with a little bit to work on. We gave up too many yards, so we've got to go back to work and figure out the things that happened.
On Oklahoma State: That might be one of the more balanced teams that we've played, one of the best offenses that we've ever played. I'm very relieved to be out of that game.
On the difficulty in stopping Oklahoma State's running game: They kept bouncing that ball outside and I don't know what was happening. We'll have to go look at film, we'll figure out what was going on. We could have made some better tackles, better angles to the ball, things like that.
On how the team handles the schedule they are faced with: You must take every week game by game. That's what the coaches have been telling us from the beginning. You've got to keep focused on the team you have to play. Oklahoma State was the team we had to play this week, now we've got to focus on Texas Tech.
RB Vondrell McGee
On why rushing yards were hard to come by: They had more safeties on the defense than we usually face. They had more secondary people in the game and were playing with three down linemen.
On his role in the passing game: Everything just opened up. The linebackers were bailing out, so we were open on the hook.
On what they expected of Oklahoma State before the game: They were tough. They always come to play every time we play them, which everybody does. But we knew they were going to be tough. We knew it was going to come down to the wire, so we knew we had to play all 60 minutes.
On facing tough competition so frequently: I think we're kind of used to it. We deal with it all the time. Everybody plays this hard, no matter who they are. We face it every weekend, so we're kind of used to it by now.
DL Aaron Lewis
On Oklahoma State's offense: Their offense is probably one of the best we've seen all year. They never give up, they kept coming at us and you've got to give them a lot of respect for that.
On the fourth-down stop in the fourth quarter: Our bell was rung. We had to get out there and perform and stop them. The stand before that, we stopped them from a touchdown and made them kick the field goal.
On the importance stressed of not letting Zac Robinson get outside of the pocket: A lot. He is a great quarterback. He's got a gun (for an arm) and he's got some wheels, so we've got to respect him a lot.
On what the team learned about itself: We have a lot of character. We showed that we never give up, offense and defense. We kept going out there, kept fighting and they did the same thing. It was just two great teams in a great game.
RB Chris Ogbonnaya
On surviving a close game: It was a tough game. Oklahoma State, we have to give them credit. They're a great football team. We knew that going in, but it's different when you play them. They're very physical and it was a great challenge for us. I'm happy we got the win.
On his feelings as the Hail Mary pass was in the air on the last play: It's a feeling that's a little uneven, just because you've seen it happen before where somebody comes up with a miraculous catch, and hearts are broken. I always think of Kentucky-LSU a couple of years ago. But Curtis Brown played a great game, just stepping in and making plays, and he did a great job of batting the ball down.
On his feelings postgame: It's a mixture of relief and happiness that you won. For me personally, I always feel like I could have played better. I always feel like I could have made more plays and helped our offense make more plays. I think as an offense, we're very critical of our performance and also eager to go back to work. We have a great opponent next week, so we just want to continue to work.
On the benefits of a game like this: It's always good to play a great opponent. We would love to jump out and have a good start, but sometimes it's how the game boils down. It's a close one, a nail-biter and you have to be prepared to play in those types of games. We were lucky enough to get the opportunity.
OKLAHOMA STATE COACH AND PLAYERS
Head Coach Mike Gundy
On the game: It was a heck of a college football game. It was a great setting, great atmosphere. I was very proud of our team today. The guys played with a lot of heart. The guys made good decisions. We played very well as a team. Defensively, they ran on us as little bit, moved the ball quite a bit early. Then our defense rallied and played really hard, had some big hits and forced some turnovers in the second half. Offensively, we were able to stay balanced and were able to run the football and pass the football.
Our players played well enough to win the game today. The offensive play calling in the last drive we had the ball was poor. It was my fault. The players deserved the opportunity to win, and we didn't have very good play calling on the drive previous to the one at the end of the game.
Overall, I'm very proud of our football team. Our word to them last Sunday was, "You deserve to be in this game. You deserve to play the No. 1 team in the country. Play with confidence, and play as hard as you can." That's all you can ask out of your players, and that's what they did.
QB Zac Robinson
On the game: We came up a little bit short. We were right there. They were the No. 1 team, and we knew we were right there with them. If we played them again, it might have been a different outcome. We kind of let them off the hook. We were just a few plays short. We turned the ball over and didn't execute on third down. We were right there. We definitely want this one back.
They have good players, but it wasn't anything they did. We could move the ball on them anytime we wanted, and we knew that coming in. They made some good plays in the second half when it counted, and we didn't.
They're a good team. You've got to give them credit. We want this one back, but unfortunately, we're not going to get it. They're a very good team, that's why they're No. 1 in the country. We're not very far behind. I'm just proud of the way our guys responded, coming into a tough environment. We have a lot of young guys, but the way they played, I wouldn't trade anyone on our team for anything.
On OSU's mistakes in the red zone: It hurt us a little bit, but we were still in position to win the football game. Even with those plays, we were right there, and we had a chance to win the game. You have to play Texas mistake-free. They're a good team. Unfortunately, we just came up short.
On whether the crowd noise was a factor: No, not at all. It was not a factor. We had one false start, which was my fault with the cadence. It wasn't very loud. We had no problems with communication at any point.
LB Andre Sexton
On Oklahoma State's performance: I felt like we went out there and gave them our best shot. We came out and we played better here than we did two years ago, and that's something we can build on. We did some good things and we did some bad things. Looking at the game film, we'll have some things we can correct for next week, but we'll be alright.
On the defensive performance against Colt McCoy: I felt like there were a couple of series where we played pretty good, but he still found ways to make plays. He's a Heisman hopeful for a reason.
RB Kendall Hunter
On what Oklahoma State takes away from the game: We've improved on coming together and understanding each other better. We'll have to take a look at the tape to see what we did wrong and where we need to improve.
On Texas' defense: (Texas) had a pretty good defense, but I have to give credit to my offensive line. Our guys opened up some lines for me all day, and I felt comfortable with the way the line played.